in the 1890's we have the corps of engineers in trying to control the mississippi river with marginal success. ramped up by congressional ctions in the late 1800's. that was the preface to what we do today. you see common ground here for almost the last 100 years. in each case, there is a recognition that all disasters are local. there is a fema mantra from day one. if you are a fema employee, you understand that all disasters are local. the people hit first suffer the longest and tend to be the last to truly recover. that is where the impact film lines. enough -- impact zone lies. these things cross state lines. they cross county and parish lines. they are national. these are the sort of things that demand national attention, action, and legislation. with a realization that the money, funds, and help need to filter down to those who need it most and also who know most how to spend it. in each disaster we have had since the 1920's, there has been an issue of who is in charge. the local mayor, the state governor, i need federal funds. the feds come in and tell you we are establishing a